Businessman Charges Breach Of Contract Proposal To Purchase Hellertown Site Went Awry

December 28, 1985|by TAD MILLER, The Morning Call

The attorney for a businessman in the Upper Saucon Township village of Center Valley said yesterday that his client and two investors have filed suit in Northampton County Court for alleged breach of contract and fraud in connection with the Hellertown Manufacturing Co. site.

Nick Noel of Teel, Stettz, Shimer & Digiacomo - an Easton law firm - said a suit was filed Dec. 24 naming Champion Spark Plug Co., Toledo, Ohio, and Hellertown Manufacturing Co., a subsidiary bought by Champion, as defendants. Five counts are listed in the suit.

The businessman, Douglas Oliver, president and owner of PPM Technology and its parent company, International Marketers, wanted to purchase the Hellertown Manufacturing Co. building at 1758 Main St., Hellertown, earlier this year to open an acid distillation plant. However, those plans hit a snag when Oliver learned that the Environmental Protection Agency was concerned about lagoons alleged to contain hazardous wastes on the property. Noel, representing Oliver, said his client found out the site was a candidate for federal Superfund cleanup just prior to settlement. He said Oliver then asked that Champion provide indemnity in the event cleanup was necessary. When it refused, Oliver backed out, Noel said.

Oliver has since purchased a building in the Easton area for acid distillation.

Noel said Oliver is suing to regain his $50,000 down payment and associated costs, about $40,000, including financing and counsel fees. Oliver is also seeking punitive damages from Champion for alleged fraud for failure to disclose all information about the site.

In addition, Stephen Marcincin and Harry Yotter, both of Hellertown, are suing Champion for $50,000 each for breach of contract and for lost income as consultants to Oliver. Marcincin and Yotter negotiated an agreement of sale for $550,000 and later assigned that agreement to Oliver, Noel said. Marcincin and Yotter are also seeking punitive damages for alleged fraud.

Noel described Marcincin and Yotter as third-party beneficiaries, who stood to make $100,000 had the sale gone through. He said they would have made $50,000 from the agreement of sale and another $50,000 for a three-year contract for consulting services.

Champion has 20 days to respond to all allegations. The total compensatory damages sought by Oliver, Marcincin and Yotter is about $300,000. They will be seeking in excess of $20,000 for punitive damages, but an actual amount would be set by a jury.

Meanwhile, Champion, in a suit filed earlier this year, is attempting to sue Oliver, Marcincin and Yotter as well as R. J. DenHerder, a Michigan real estate broker, for backing out of the deal, Noel said. A Michigan court has declined to hear the case, ruling that it lacks jurisdiction; the matter is expected to be heard in Northampton County Court, according to Noel.

Champion officials said in May that their tests showed no "hazardous concentrations that would require any action at this time." They promised to continue monitoring test wells as long as they are associated with the property.

The Department of Environmental Resources (DER) has said it also will monitor wells at the site for about a year.

Wastes from the spark plug plant were dumped into five lagoons near the rear of the property between 1930 and 1976, according to DER assessment reports. The pits were closed in in 1982 with ground, but there was some concern that the materials might mix with ground water, causing contamination.